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A 75-year-old male undergoing hemodialysis because of diabetic nephropathy was referred to our hospital complaining of high fever and swelling of the left kidney. Our initial clinical diagnosis was severe pyelonephritis. He was initially treated with intravenous antibiotics and his clinical symptoms subsequently improved but only temporarily. The high fever soon recurred, accompanied by progressive thrombocytopenia. His general condition deteriorated despite conservative treatment. He then underwent nephrectomy of the left kidney. However, the thrombocytopenia persisted and his general condition did not improve. The pathological diagnosis was malignant lymphoma (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, diffuse large Bcell type). He received chemotherapy, but his status rapidly deteriorated and he died 1.5 months after the operation. Primary renal malignant lymphoma is very rare, because the kidney lacks lymphatic tissue.

We report a case of dermatomyositis associated with prostatic carcinoma. A 69-year-old male was admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine with the chief complaint of general fatigue, appetite loss and facial anthema. Abdominal ultrasound demonstrated swollen periaortic lymph nodes and the margin of prostate was unclear. Prostatic carcinoma was suspected based on digital rectal examination, so he was admitted to our department. Serum prostate specific antigen level was 190 ng/ml. He was examined by a dermatologist because of deterioration of anthema. Dermatomyocitis was demonstrated by dermatoses (edema erythema at face, neck and limbs, nail fold thrombosis and poikiloderma), high serum level of creatine phosphokinase and a decrease in muscular strength (especially at the proximal musculus). There was no interstitial pneumonitis or malignancy of the digestive system. On needle biopsy of the prostate and quadriceps femoris muscle, prostatic carcinoma (poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, Gleason score 5 + 5) and myositis were suspected. The stage of prostatic carcinoma was T4N1M1. The patient was treated by administration of diethylstilbestrol phosphate and prednisolone for prostatic carcinoma and dermatomyositis, respectively, but he died of multiple metastasis of the tumor 1 year and 5 months later. Dermatomyocitis is associated with malignancy more frequently than any other collagen disease. In Japan, it is frequently complicated by gastric, lung and mammory cancers, but rarely by prostatic carcinoma. To our knowledge, this is the fourth case of prostatic carcinoma associated with dermatomyocitis in Japan.

Prostate cancer is the most common urogenital cancer, and is increasing rapidly. We performed an epidemiological study on prostate cancer in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Registration of prostate cancer patients diagnosed at clinics and hospitals in and around Gunma Prefecture was started at Gunma University in 1985. The epidemiological characteristics of prostate cancer patients in Gunma Prefecture were analyzed by these data. The incidence and crude incidence rates have increased five-fold, from 114 and 12.0 in 1985 to 539 and 53.9 in 2000, respectively. The age-adjusted incidence rate (adjusted to the world population) was increased three-fold, from 8.3 in 1985 to 24.2 in 2000. The age-specific incidence rate showed an increase with age. The cancers in clinical stages A and D decreased, while those in stages B and C increased. No change in distribution was observed in pathological differentiation. Prostate cancer has increased rapidly during these 16 years in Gunma Prefecture. It is important to perform PSA testing aggressively in males age 50 or older, and detect prostate cancer in an early stage.

The patient was a 12-year-old boy, who was brought to our hospital with a chief complaint of swelling and pain in the right scrotum. Color Doppler ultrasonography showed blood flow in the right testis and increased blood flow at the right epididymis. Our diagnosis was right epididymitis, and the swelling of the scrotum was improved by antibiotics. Since there was recurrence, right epididymectomy was performed. Histological diagnosis was chronic epididymitis. Postoperative, screening for abnormalities in the urinary tract revealed no malformations. Recurrent epididymitis in a child without genitourinary malformations is a very rare pathology.

We studied the clinical significance of serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) ratio: free-PSA/total-PSA and free-PSA/complex-PSA to discriminate between prostate cancer (PC) and prostate benign disease (non-PCa) by using total-PSA, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin complexed (complex)-PSA and free-PSA enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits newly developed at EIKEN Chemical Co, Ltd. Fre-PSA and complex-PSA ELISA kits demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity. Total-PSA ELISA kit also demonstrated equimolarity for free-PSA and complex-PSA. On the total-PSA range of 4-10 ng/ml, free-PSA/total-PSA% (f/t%) and free-PSA/complex-PSA% (f/c%) were very useful to discriminate between PCa and non-PCa by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis as well as PSA density (PSA-D) but not free-PSA level. F/t% and f/c% were even useful to discriminate early stage PCa (i.e. A1 or B0) from non-PCa by the Mann-Whitney U-test.

Prostatic cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the field of urology. The number of patients is increasing rapidly and its importance as a mortal disease is gathering attention. In 1985, we organized a registration system for prostatic cancer patients found in and around Gunma prefecture. In this study, we analyzed the clinical characteristics of the 730 patients registered from 1985 to 1989. The results were as follows. Mean age was 74.0 years old and the number of the patients was the greatest in the eighth decade. Voiding disturbance was the most common chief complaint, followed by pollakisuria, gross hematuria and miction pain. Stage and grade distribution were as follows. Stage A 16.2%, B 21.1%, C 17.0%, D 45.7%, well differentiated 27.4%, moderately differentiated 48.2% and poorly differentiated 24.5%, respectively. A statistically significant relationship between stage and grade was observed. Bone was the most common metastatic site. The highest incidence of bone metastasis was in lumbar vertebra, followed by ribs, ilium, thoracic vertebra and ischium. The value of PAP, ALP and ESR tended to be higher in high stage patients, and that of Hb was lower. Fifty two patients were detected by mass screening. Most of these patients were in an early stage. Most of the patients were treated by hormonal therapy. LH-RH agonists constituted 39.2% of the cases given hormonal therapy.